Key Question: Why Is Our World Special? Supplementary Questions for Unit 8 Resources

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1 Awareness, Mystery and Value (AMV) 2011: Sample Schemes of Learning Key Stage 1 Unit 8: Why Is Our World Special? [A&E] This unit explores ideas about the natural world and our place in it and how they relate to religious and other beliefs About this example This series of approximately 12 lessons is intended to provide a set of learning activities in RE for a Year 1/2 class. It was written by Dave Francis (Associate Adviser for RE). The focus here is on exploring the ideas of caring for the world. Children consider implications of the idea of God as the Creator who cares for everyone and of Hindu ideas of respect for mother earth. They learn how Humanists tell the story of creation. Children explore some of the mysteries and wonders of the natural world through poetry and symbolism and how might show they care or don t care for the planet. Where the example fits into the curriculum This example connects with AMV Areas of Enquiry A (Beliefs, teachings and sources) and E (Questions of meaning, purpose and truth). It makes cross-curricular connections with Literacy, Geography, Science and Music. The lessons could be used in discrete RE time or as part of a creative curriculum approach where RE links with other curriculum subjects around a theme or key question, such as Creatures / Planet Earth / All Creatures Great & Small. Prior Learning Pupils will have explored why some places are special to Hindus and Christians (KS1 Unit 7), so will have gained some familiarity with Hindu gods and with the idea of prayer and worship in Hinduism and Christianity. Featured Religions / Beliefs Areas of Enquiry Christianity / Judaism AT 1: Learning ABOUT religion and belief AT 2: Learning FROM religion and belief Hinduism A. Beliefs, teachings and sources D. Identity and belonging Humanism B. Practices and ways of life E. Meaning, purpose and truth C. Forms of expression F. Values and commitments 2012 Dave Francis 1

2 Supplementary Questions for Unit 8 (a) How do I feel about the natural world? (e.g. wonder, amazement, mystery, worry, sadness)? (b) What do songs, poems, prayers and stories say about God as the Creator? (c) What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? (d) How do show they care / don t care about our world? Resources The following texts and resources have been used for the sample learning activities below. Teachers are, of course, free to vary the resources suggested here to suit their pupils. Some peaceful music, e.g. from the Gift to the Child CD. A picture of a rainbow, some sweets, some stalks of rosemary or mint, a candle. Four PowerPoint presentations: (1) pictures of types of amazing things in the natural world: rocks, mountains, rivers, icebergs, snow, flowers, wheat, trees including fruit trees, insects, worms, fish, birds, mammals, types and ages of happy human beings, sun, moon, stars; (2) some more dangerous or frightening things in nature, e.g., volcanoes, floods, lightening, earthquakes, mosquitoes, animals hunting, disease, viruses and bacteria; (3) some of the nastier results of human behaviour, e.g., derelict buildings, rubbish dumps, crashed cars, empty alcohol bottles / cans, discarded cigarette packets, fighting, angry and sad faces, weapons, war; (4) pictures of some of the amazing things created by human beings: sorts of dwellings, sorts of farming: crops and animals, pathways, roads and motorways, hospitals, schools, buildings for worship, libraries, cinemas and museums, sports/games being played, cafes and restaurants, newspapers, toys, pets, shaking hands, phones, TV, cars, aeroplanes, Moon landings, lights, kitchen appliances, gas/electric fires. RE:Quest : Infant Section: Our World > Creation, Game, Looking after our world: Draycott, P. and R. Barker, Picturing Creation, RE Today. Janice Godfrey and Peter Adderley, The World That God Made by, Scripture Union. RE Today, Effective RE Planning: What can we learn from talking about God? and How do we say thank you for our beautiful world? > primary > units of work. Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva murtis or pictures. Seeta Lakhani and Jay Lakhani (ed.), 2006, Primary Hinduism, Vivekananda Centre: Other home-made resources are listed in the planning grids below Dave Francis 2

3 Learning Outside the Classroom Pupils should have the opportunity to walk around the school grounds if safe to do so. They use all their senses to appreciate the natural world (see lesson10 below). Expectations: A & E refer here to the focus areas of enquiry identified on the previous page. By the end of this sequence of learning: All pupils can: A1 remember a Judaeo-Christian / Hindu / Humanist story and it. Most pupils (majority class expectation) can: A2 tell a Judaeo-Christian / Hindu / Humanist story and say some things that believe. Some pupils can: A3 describe what a believer might learn from a religious story. E1 puzzling. E2 some things in stories that make ask questions. E3 ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other. These statements are taken from the Can-do levels published on the AMV website at: Dave Francis 3

4 Supplementary Question (a): How do I feel about the natural world? Lesson 1 explore how we come to know and understand the world around us; reflect on the question, How do I feel about the natural world? (e.g. wonder, amazement, mystery, worry, sadness). 1. Introduce the main question for the children s investigation over this term: Why is Our World Special? Explain that we learn about the world through our senses. Sight is one of the senses that most have. What are the other senses? Can they name hearing, smell, taste and touch? Play some gentle music, e.g., Music for a Water Fantasy by Rachmaninoff on the Gift to the Child CD. Show children some pictures and objects: a picture of a rainbow, some sweets, some stalks of rosemary or mint, a lit candle throwing out heat. Ask children to identify the sense(s) they need to appreciate each item, including the music. Explain that as well as the five senses they also need imagination and thinking ability to understand more about things in the world. Ask them to think which items might makes them (a) happy, (b) amazed, (c) sad (d) worried, and why. Ask children to draw at least one of the items and write down which feeling(s) they attached to it, with at least one reason. learn that we understand more about the world by using our senses and abilities to think and imagine; puzzling. senses, imagination, feelings, emotions, reasons. Starter: have the music playing, light a candle and ask children to sit quietly and to listen to the sound of the music and reflect on how it makes them feel Dave Francis 4

5 Supplementary Question (a): How do I feel about the natural world? Lesson 2 explore feelings and thoughts about aspects of the world around us; reflect further on the question, How do I feel about the natural world? (e.g. wonder, amazement, mystery, worry, sadness). 2. Explain that although the world is a wonderful place, there are ways of looking at it. Some things in the world were made before there were human beings. Other things have been made by. Show the first and second PowerPoints of types of things in the natural world. Play some appropriate music to go with the pictures. Ask children for their reactions and reflections. Which things do they find most amazing? Which things were most frightening or dangerous? Play the third and fourth PowerPoints with appropriate music, showing the bad things human beings have done and then the amazing achievements. Ask children what they think helps to create good things and what creates the bad things. Ask children to cut out a large paper circle each and to put amazing things about the world, both natural and human-made, on one side, and bad things on the other. They can use words and pictures. learn more about the world and the way human beings have an influence on it; puzzling and put their thoughts into pictures and words. natural world, humanmade, create, amazing, dangerous, frightening. Ideas for musical accompaniment for the presentations: It Will Be A Good Day by Yes. Lorient Mornings by Duncan Chisholm. What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. Where Is The Love? by Black Eyed Peas Dave Francis 5

6 Supplementary Question (a): How do I feel about the natural world? Lesson 3 explore feelings and thoughts about ideas about the creation of the world; reflect further on the question, How do I feel about the natural world? (e.g. wonder, amazement, mystery, worry, sadness); ask their own questions about creation. 3. Explain that there are beliefs about where the world came from and how it came to be as it is. Some, e.g., Humanists, believe that no God or divine power was involved in the process: everything that we see now is the result of natural processes that started around 15,000 million years ago with a massive explosion, known as The Big Bang. Religious have views about it: some agree with the Humanist / scientific account but add that God is involved in the whole process. Some Christians believe the scientists are wrong and that God created everything much more recently. Perhaps the best way of looking at the religious accounts of creation is as poetry or picture language, that help us see how precious the world is. Put the Picturing Creation posters up in the class and read or retell a version of the Genesis creation story. Pause at each Day s Picture and ask children to reflect and think of a question. These could be written on sticky notes and attached to the posters. At the end of the story go through the questions and get views on possible answers. If the Genesis story is a kind of poem for us to learn something what might that something be? Ask children to make up a Question and Answer poem based on a few of the sticky note questions and a repetitive refrain such as And God saw that it was good. learn about humanist and Judaeo- Christian ideas on creation; puzzling and put their thoughts into a poem. Humanists, Judaeo- Christian, God, creation, evolution, The Big Bang, precious, poetry. Play the PowerPoint of the natural world while telling the Christian and Hindu stories, or use RE Today s Picturing Creation Pack CD for the Genesis story. Genesis story: see, e.g., co.uk/ > RE > Information > Creation, or play the version on RE:Quest, or use Wonderful World by Nick Butterworth, or The World That God Made. Alternatively, read Genesis 1 from the King James Bible and ask children to listen to the rhythm of the words Dave Francis 6

7 Supplementary Question (b): What do songs, poems, prayers and stories say about God as the Creator? Learning objectives Suggested activities for teaching and learning Outcomes References notes Lesson 4 explore feelings and thoughts about ideas about the creation of the world; reflect further on the question, How do I feel about the natural world? (e.g. wonder, amazement, mystery, worry, sadness); ask their own questions about creation. 4. Remind children of the key question, Why is our world special? and that so far they have been exploring how they feel about the natural world. Having heard a humanist view and Judaeo-Christian story about creation, we are now going to see what can be learnt from a Hindu story. You can use the resource linked on the right, or show a video, such as from the Wonder Project. Ask children about the things which helped create the world. Can they remember what each of the following did: the sound that filled the emptiness : ( Om, or Aum ); Lord Vishnu; Lord Brahma; the petals of the Lotus flower? What is the name for God when he creates? (Brahma); when he looks after the creation? (Vishnu); and when he destroys, ready to start creating all over again? (Shiva). Explain that the story tells Hindus something important about life: that there is a cycle of life: things that die, like a seed in the ground, come back to life. Life is constantly recycling. The story is full of picture language but hidden inside are insights into how life goes around and around. Do children know about the life cycle of a frog from Science lessons? Provide children with a handout with the Earth copied into the middle and with the words CREATE, TAKE CARE and DESTROY round the outside. Show them the pictures or murtis of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and ask them to work in pairs to work out which words the gods should appear next to and to draw them in the appropriate places. puzzling; remember aspects of the Hindu story of creation. Hindus, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahman, Krishna, the cycle of life, murtis. Creation in Hinduism Transcript of the Wonder Project video (see 1081 supplementary resources). During the Hindu creation story show children images of Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, three aspects of Brahman. The Wonder Project: thewonderproject.co.uk/ Murtis are statues or images of the Hindu gods Dave Francis 7

8 Supplementary Questions (b): What do songs, poems, prayers and stories say about God as the Creator? (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 5 learn about the Hindu idea of the mother goddess as the source of power and strength; begin to express their own ideas about creation; ask their won questions about the Hindu gods. 5. Explain that Hindus believe that the earth is like a mother that gives and sustains life. Like our own mothers, the earth is to be loved and respected. Many Hindus prefer to think of God as a woman the Mother Goddess who is the source of all power and strength (Shakti). Show children pictures / murtis of Parvati and Durga. Explain that one popular form of the Mother Goddess is Parvati. Parvati is the source of all power and when she wants to destroy wicked she changes herself into Durga. Remind children of the Hindu creation story from the last lesson and provide them with some Play Doh compound. Ask them to make it into their ideal shape for creative power and energy. Ask them to explain their creation to others and some to the whole class. Pick out interesting ideas. How would they feel about smashing up their creations and starting again? They may or may not mind, but it s very when it comes to a whole world of living beings. Draw out the lesson of the importance of care for each other and our world. Show children pictures or murtis of Saraswati and Lakshmi. Explain that these Goddesses may remind Hindus of other important aspects of creation, e.g., being creative ourselves, in art, science, music and dance (Saraswati) and of good fortune (Lakshmi). Encourage children to ask their own questions about the pictures / murtis. What do they think Hindus might learn from seeing these goddesses? puzzling; remember aspects of the Hindu story of creation. ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other describe what a Hindu might learn from looking at the murtis. Hindus, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Brahman, Krishna, the cycle of life, murtis, goddess. Use, e.g., murtis from the Hindu artefacts collection or pictures of Parvati and Durga in Seeta Lakhani and Jay Lakhani (ed.), Primary Hinduism, p.20. Find out about the symbolism of the Hindu murtis through, e.g., Wikipedia articles on the iconography associated with each God/Goddess. Play Doh Dave Francis 8

9 Supplementary Questions (b): What do songs, poems, prayers and stories say about God as the Creator? (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 6 explore Christian hymns praising God for His creation; make their own song of creation; reflect on some Christian beliefs about creation. 6. Teach children a few verses of a Christian hymn about the creation, e.g., The Earth is the Lord s, by Gerald Gardiner, (Sung to the tune of Lord of the Dance), or What the Lord Creates, by Jessica, Emily and Sam Crawshaw. Take children through the meaning of the words of the hymns, e.g., in The Earth is the Lord s: Come then, and bless the earth we share, Let every moment be a prayer, Blending our wills to the rhythm of His ways, Joining our lives to all nature's praise. Divide the class into groups of 5 or 6 and explain that they are going to make their own Song of Creation. Give each group a word from the hymn s chorus, such as Bless, Earth, Share, Prayer, Rhythm, Lives, Nature, Praise and ask them to come up with a vocal sound, or a clapping or tapping noise to represent that word. Ask them to make their sound into a repeated rhythm, then try joining two or three or four groups together to see if they can form a coherent sound together. Bring all the groups together and make an audio or video recording. The challenge: can they bring order out of chaos? Which was more fun: singing someone else s hymn, or making up their own? Finish with a quiet reflection on some of the words of the chosen hymn and ask what Christian beliefs are being expressed. puzzling; some things in hymns that believe. creation, creator, creativity, blessing, will (-power), nature, praise. Link to Hymns: and The accompanying music for Lord of the Dance can be downloaded from the Church of England s Worship Workshop website Dave Francis 9

10 Supplementary Question (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 7 compare similarities and differences between the Judaeo- Christian, Hindu and non-religious beliefs about the world; reflect on the meaning of creation stories; explore some of the wonders of the world; ask their own questions about things in the world. 7. Remind children that they have been exploring beliefs about our world and why it may be special. Ask why it might be special for Jews and Christians, e.g., because God created it and we were created to look after it; why it might be special for Hindus, e.g., because the earth is like our mother it brings our birth and we must respect and honour it; and why it might be special for non-religious too, e.g., because life took so long to evolve and it is up to us to make sure life gets better for everyone living on earth. Remind them that these stories came before the time of modern science. Ask them if they think the stories were intended to be descriptions of what actually happened, or more like poems of celebration of life on earth? Or perhaps a combination of reasons? Divide the children in to small groups and provide large pieces of paper to put in the middle of each group s table. The word BLESSINGS is in the middle of each group s paper. Explain that blessings are those things we are thankful for. Ask the children to work in their groups and to write down or draw on their paper all the things they like in the world, including things in the natural world. When all have had a chance to contribute ask them to move round the table in turn to see if there are other good ideas. They then return to their own table and add some more words and pictures. Finally, ask children to add one or two why questions about life and the blessings they have included, e.g., why are some animals good pets and some not? and share these questions with the class. ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other describe what might learn from accounts of creation. Mother Earth, God, blessings, evolution, celebration Dave Francis 10

11 Supplementary Question (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 8 learn about s beliefs about the world; explore their own beliefs about the world; consider beliefs that may have in common; consider the belief in God as Creator of the world; think about amazing things in the universe. 8. Explain that this lesson looks at some beliefs about the world and reasons for having those beliefs. We have looked at three accounts of creation: one shared by Jews and Christians, one used by Hindus, and a modern scientific account. Can we find truth in all of them? Show children the Picturing Creation posters or slides again and remind them of the features of the creation in Genesis that Jews and Christians share: God s creative power, light, sky, land and water, sun, moon, stars and planets, plants and animals, human beings with senses to appreciate and care for the each other and the world. Remind them of the Hindu story of creation, their gods and goddesses and of the messages of the cycle of life and the need to care for all creatures. Remind them of the attempt by scientists to describe the beginnings of the universe. Many religious believe this is a good description of how the universe began but Humanists believe that God had no part in it. Issue the Shared Beliefs cards and ask children in small groups to select the statements they think Jews, Christians, Hindus and Humanists would ALL agree with. Discuss the results and then ask children to rearrange the statements in two columns: on the left: things they DO believe; on the right: things they DON T believe. Ask them to start making a Creation poster for each table with their most believed statements and illustrations of amazing things in the universe. remember aspects of the Judaeo- Christian, Hindu and Humanist stories of creation; say some things that believe; describe what might learn from accounts of creation. beliefs, truth, creation, God, universe, world, Humanist. RE Today s Picturing Creation posters. Shared Beliefs Cards (see 1081 supplementary resources) Dave Francis 11

12 Supplementary Questions (b): What do songs, poems, prayers and stories say about God as the Creator? (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 9 think about amazing things in the universe; reflect on s beliefs about the world; explore their own beliefs about the world; consider beliefs that may have in common; consider the belief in God as Creator of the world. 9. Continue with Creation posters, adding pictures of amazing things in the universe, and using ideas from Genesis 1, the creation by Lord Brahma and the Big Bang theory of creation. Encourage children to include any big questions they have about creation as well as pictures. Ask them to include statements about what Christians, Jews, Hindus and Humanists believe, e.g., by selecting statements from the Shared Beliefs activity in the last lesson. Take digital photos of the resulting posters for the school website. As children complete their posters ask them to work out in their groups what they think might learn from the accounts of creation. For example, are who believe in God more or less likely to take care of the world than who do not? Why? Complete the lesson with demonstrations of good features from the posters. say some things that believe; some things in creation stories that make ask questions; describe what might learn from accounts of creation. beliefs, truth, creation, care. Digital camera Dave Francis 12

13 Supplementary Questions (c): What ways can I use to show what I think and believe about our world? Lesson 10 use their senses to investigate the world around them; write senses poems about the season; begin to show what they think and believe about the world; ask each other questions about their poems. 10. One way to show what you think and believe about the world is to write a poem based on your senses. Show children some sense poems, e.g: Winter looks like a bare and frosty tree. Winter feels like a cold shower. Winter sounds like the crunch of snow under foot. Winter smells like a wood-smoke fire. Winter tastes like roast turkey on Christmas Day. Take children for a walk around the school grounds. Ask them to use their sense of sight to look for amazing things; their sense of touch on the bark of a tree and its leaves; their sense of hearing to detect natural and human-made sounds; their sense of smell to detect the scent of flowers or grass or herbs or, hopefully, fresh air. And to use their imagination to taste their favourite fruit that might grow in someone s garden. Depending on the season: Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, ask children to write a senses poem and add two more lines about the wonders of the world and the seasons: The most amazing thing about [Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter] is... I believe the seasons show Ask children to compare their poems and ask each other why they chose the examples of senses and beliefs that they did. Use the resulting poems in a display, or to put a selection on the school website, or to enter for RE Today s Spirited Poetry competition. puzzling; some things in nature that make ask questions; ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other seasons, senses, imagination, belief. Examples of senses poems Dave Francis 13

14 Supplementary Question (d): How do show they care / don t care about our world? Lesson 11 reflect on the creation of the natural and human-made worlds; explore actions that help or harm the world and its creatures. 11. Explain that some show care for the world, but some do not. Replay the first two PowerPoint presentations of good and bad things in the natural world from lesson 2, pausing after each one for the children to talk to the person next to them about the images which mean most to them. Share ideas in the class and explain that all of these things are only thought to be good or bad because of their effect on human beings. Show the third and fourth PowerPoints of the bad things human beings have done and then the amazing achievements. Ask children to talk to the person next them about what they think helps to create good things and what creates the bad things, just as they did in that earlier lesson. Share ideas in the class. Explain that they are now going to complete a guide for adults, advising them on what they should and should not do to make the world a better place for them to grow up in. Provide some starter sentences (some negative, some positive) for children to complete, with words they could match up to the sentences, such as: Make the world cleaner by not... dropping litter Make yourself healthier by not... being greedy Make the world more peaceful by not... hurting others Make happier by... helping others Make the world more fair by... being honest Make the world more fun by... joining in Explain that human actions have consequences for and the world and that it is important to work out what we believe and what we value if we want those consequences to be good Dave Francis 14 puzzling; say some things that believe; some things that make ask questions; ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other. care, advice/advise, honesty, greed, consequences. Digital presentations.

15 Supplementary Question (d): How do show they care / don t care about our world? Lesson 12 reflect on why the world is special; recall key features of three accounts of creation; consider what might learn from the creation stories; ask their own questions about belief and care for the world. 12. Remind children of the key question for RE this term: Why is our world special? Ask children what they think the answer to that question might be. For example, is it special because it is the only one we have? Is it special because it contains such amazing things and wonderful creatures? Is it special because we have senses to appreciate it? Is special because we have who care about us and we care about them? Remind children of the three accounts of creation they have been thinking about: one shared by Jews and Christians, one used by Hindus, and a modern scientific account. What can they remember of these accounts? Ask children to retell each account in turn, first to the person next to them, then as a whole class. What do they think might learn from these stories? For example, do they encourage to look after the world? Why, or why not? Ask them to imagine that two visitors are coming to the class: one who believes that God created the universe and one who believes that there was no God involved in the creation. Ask children, on their own at first, to think up a question they would like to ask these visitors. Then compare their question with that of the person next to them. Then, in small groups, can they agree on two or three questions to ask? Share the questions and make a display of a selection: Our Questions about Creation. Explain that who believe in God and who don t believe in God might all want to look after the world. Some, because they believe God wants them to do so; others, because 2012 Dave Francis 15 puzzling; remember aspects of the Judaeo- Christian, Hindu and Humanist stories of creation; say some things that believe; some things in creation stories that make ask questions; ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other care, belief, creation, God.

16 they believe the world will not sustain us if we do not. If time, play PowerPoints 1 & 4 again: good things in nature, and amazing creations of human beings. Make a record (see below) of pupils attainment in this enquiry. describe what might learn from accounts of creation Dave Francis 16

17 All pupils: (Level 1) A1 remember a Judaeo-Christian / Hindu / Humanist story and it. RECORD OF ATTAINMENT KS2 Unit 8: Why Is Our World Special? (A & E) Year 1/2 Most pupils - majority class expectation: (Level 2) A2 tell a Judaeo-Christian / Hindu / Humanist story and say some things that believe. Some pupils: (Level 3) A3 describe what a believer might learn from a religious story. E1 puzzling. E2 some things in stories that make ask questions. E3 ask important questions about life and compare their ideas with those of other Dave Francis 17